Burns
by Liooness
Summary: September contest entry for TwilightRose2. Zuko and Toph learn about burns and each other. After Ember Island Players.


**A/N:** Yeah, I know. Another contest entry for TwilightRose2. I can't believe I actually won the last one. So when she recommended I enter this month's, I couldn't resist the challenge. Don't worry, my other fics are still in works, and will be updated soon. But here are the rules for September;

This month's contest is something pretty easy. I will give you two lines. They have no prior context, no specific characters saying them but the lines must appear in your fic. Therefore, write a whole story based on two simple lines. The lines: **"It hurts." "Not as much as it should."**

No sex scenes. One shot or multichaptered. Must be in the Avatarverse. Mild AUs that take place within the world is okay. You must create one OC to play a very MINOR part. Very minor and please, no Gary and/or Mary Sues, the Avatar fandom has already been poisoned enough.

So, there you have it, and here's my entry. Good luck to everyone else! And this starts right at the end of Ember Island Players. And it's also for all of us wanting a real fieldtrip. So, don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, but I would like a Zuko plushy!**

Zuko stalked back to the town and theatre, berating himself and the folly of Sokka. The guy was a genius sometimes, but other times…he was just an imbecile. The idiot had left his boomerang and fire flakes at the theatre and had complained about leaving them. Suki had said she would get them, but was nearly asleep by the time they got back to the house and Sokka had finally realized they were missing. Aang wanted to go, but was told by Katara that he was too noticeable. The waterbender had suggested Zuko get them and he had agreed just to get away from everyone looking at him oddly. One of the last scenes of the horrific play showed Azula killing him, and he knew he would have to face his sister before the comet arrived. He just hoped real life didn't mimic bad acting.

The firebender was so absorbed in his thoughts about facing Azula that he didn't realize he was being followed until someone sprang out at him from the brush beside him. He couldn't see anything really well because of the hood covering his head and, especially, his scar. The person leapt out at him from his left side and he instantly brought fire to his fist and almost scorched the person before he realized it was Toph.

"Whoa Princess, you almost made a huge mistake. Again," she said as she backed up slightly.

"Sorry," Zuko muttered as he let the flame go and started walking again. He started berating himself about not learning from his mistakes as he saw Toph fall in alongside of him. He had burned her badly before, when he had just met her, and now, he had almost burned her again.

"So, what are you doing here?" Zuko asked her quietly as they walked.

"Sweetness wanted to make sure you didn't get in trouble," Toph said as she jumped up onto a low wall bordering the path on Zuko's right side. "You seemed pretty depressed at the end, and haven't changed since. And that's saying a lot for you."

"Gee, you're so inspirational," Zuko stated sarcastically.

"Hey, don't try and be me," she said with a smirk as she jumped back onto the path and turned her head to smirk back at Zuko. "You wouldn't last a day."

Zuko found himself smiling back a little at the small earthbender. She was definitely odd, but she was as solid as her element and had become a good friend. They continued to walk in silence for a while.

"So why did you get so down?" Toph asked as they neared the theatre.

Zuko frowned as Toph took his thoughts back to where they were when she entered.

"They showed my sister killing me," Zuko said quietly. "I know I have to face her, but I can't defeat her alone."

"Hmmm," Toph mused as she brought a hand to her chin as if deep in thought. "You've learned a lot, and have fought her to a standstill the last couple of times. And you still don't think you can beat her?"

Zuko merely frowned at Toph. He had already said that and she seemed to read his mood and merely smiled back at him. She suddenly stopped and frowned as she faced forward again.

"What?" Zuko hissed as he stopped slightly behind the earthbender and stood ready.

Toph merely stood, waiting and suddenly a small spurt of fire came from off the path as a small boy chased a smaller girl in front of Toph and Zuko. The girl tried to avoid the small fireballs the boy threw, but tripped onto the path as a small fireball hit her lower leg. Toph froze as the girl started crying in front of her and the boy stopped a soon as he saw Zuko and Toph. The boy turned pale as he saw Zuko's glare and turned tail and ran away from them. The girl merely continued to cry as she turned to sit and cradle her right ankle.

With a frown at a still frozen Toph, Zuko went to the girl and kneeled next to her. She seemed to notice him for the first time and gasped as she saw his shadowed face pear at her leg and study the burn.

"Relax," Zuko told the little girl. "I'm just checking it."

The girl nodded and sniffed, wiping her nose. "It hurts," she said as she choked on tears.

Zuko nodded and reached into one of his pockets for a jar of salve he carried with him. He dipped two fingers into the salve and then started to treat the small burn. The little girl gasped as the cool salve touched the burn for the first time before she started relaxing slightly as he rubbed the salve into the burn.

"There," Zuko said as he put the salve away again. "It'll still hurt, but not as much as it should."

"Trust us, we've had burns before," Toph said as she finally spoke up.

Zuko turned his head slightly and saw Toph right next to him and saw her smiling down at the little girl. The girl gasped as Zuko turned to his right towards Toph, and the prince immediately turned back to the girl. He noticed his hood had fallen farther back and he had more sight on his left side. The girl was staring at his scar. He hastily pulled the hood over the left side of his face again, but it was too late.

"Relax kid," Toph said with a grin. "We're not going to hurt you. In fact, we just helped you."

"You're…you're…the prince," the girl whispered in awe. Zuko was surprised as the girl suddenly tackled him in a hug and Toph started giggling. "I'm so glad you weren't killed by the princess," the girl said.

"Yeah, sure," Zuko said awkwardly as Toph's giggles became held back laughs. "Um…we gotta go, but stay away from fires, ok?"

The girl nodded and got up, bowing respectfully to Zuko and Toph before she turned to leave. Zuko watched as Toph grabbed the girl's shoulder.

"And it would be best if you didn't tell anyone you saw him, ok?" Toph said as she met the girl's brown eyes with her own misty green eyes.

"Ok!" The girl said, nodding enthusiastically. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise!"

Toph nodded once and let the girl go and both Zuko and Toph watched as the girl ran back the way she had come. Zuko watched her as she left. The kid had been cute and she had reminded him of his sister when Azula had still had a little bit of innocence within her. Toph punched him in the arm as she started walking again.

"Cute kid," she muttered as Zuko fell in beside her. "Do you always carry that stuff with you?"

"Yeah," Zuko said as he put his hands into his pocket and felt the jar of salve. "Even firebenders get burned, and it really does help. It helped me when my scar was healing. It's not nearly as good as waterbending, but every bit helps ease the pain."

"Kinda makes me wish I had stuck around after you burned me," Toph smirked as they turned onto the walkway leading up to the theatre.

"Yeah," Zuko said awkwardly as he ran a hand through his hair before pulling his hood more tightly around his face. "Maybe things would have gone better. I still feel really bad about that."

"No worries," Toph said with a shrug. "Live and learn. You learned not to go all flameo right away and I learned not to sneak up on a firebender when he's asleep."

Zuko smiled at Toph as they reached the doors and found an old man about to lock them.

"Can I help you?" the man asked as he turned to them.

"Yeah," Toph said with a smile as she reached out and grabbed Zuko's arm. "My friend left something after the performance. Can I go and get it?"

"Where'd he leave it?" the old man asked and Zuko finally recognized the man as the guy who did all the mechanisms for the special effects.

"Top tier in the back," Toph said with a smile.

"C'mon then," the guy said and they followed him in and up. There Zuko grabbed the boomerang and fire flakes before following the old man out with Toph still hanging on his arm.

"You two kinda odd," the guy remarked as he locked the door.

"I'm blind, and my friend guides me," Toph said with an innocent smile. "He doesn't talk too much."

Zuko saw the man trying to peer into his hood and turned his face away from the light.

"He also has a hideous scar and is missing an eye and part of his face. He doesn't like the attention. We've got to go, thank you sir."

The man had drawn back at the mention of disfigurement and Zuko turned away, nearly dragging Toph with him back towards the house. Toph burst into laughter as soon as they were out of range of the theatre.

"It's not funny," Zuko growled to her as he let her go and almost pushed her away.

"Yeah, it was. The way his breathing and posture changed as he went from curious to disgust. Man, if I could see, I would love to have seen the look on his face! C'mon, how funny is that?"

Zuko withdrew into silence and brooding and soon Toph had slowed and ducked her head to hide her face behind her bangs.

"Sorry," she eventually muttered as they neared the halfway point. "I know what it's like to be ridiculed about your looks. It hurts. That's why I joke and laugh about it. It's just how I am."

Zuko glanced over at her and suddenly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in to grab her headband and mess up her hair.

"It does hurt," he said with a smile as she reached for the headband and her falling hair. "Not as much as it should…anymore. Thanks, Squirt."

"Hey, I'm the only one allowed to give nicknames!" Toph cried as she tried to reach for her headband again, but Zuko kept it just out of her reach. He started smiling as he held the headband away from her and firebended her back every time she attempted to earthbend to get it back.

Just before they reached the beach path that led up to the house, Zuko gave in and finally handed the headband back. Toph grabbed it as if he would take it out of her range again before punching him in the shoulder.

"Thanks, Sunshine," Toph said as she re-did her hair. "See? If we can be burn buddies and you can keep me at bay, you can definitely beat your crazy sister."

"And thank you for the vote of confidence," Zuko said as he grinned at her. Toph turned to him and grinned back before starting to smirk.

"Last one to the house is a rotten egg!" she called as she started running up the path. Zuko simply sighed before running after her.

"Careful, I might burn you with my speed," Toph called back to him as he gained on her.

"Good thing I got the salve then," Zuko said as he caught her and pushed her back. "Cause you're gonna get burned!"

XXXXX

An odd sight met the rest of the gang that night as they got ready to sleep. Zuko was actually laughing as he and Toph joked and raced all the way up the path to the house. They were all a little scared of it at first until Zuko put his natural small smile back on as he beat Toph to the porch. When asked what was going on, Zuko and Toph had the same, simple answer.

"We learned about burns and salves."

**A/N:** Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to review!


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